I don't know if the military uses their own movers, here is the little bit I know about professional movers (from my friend moving cross-country, and my parents moving 50 miles). They will not take chemicals. The chemicals I know were refused were: a can of insect repellant, paint & wood stain (opened and unopened), paint stripper and the like.
I feel like the rules are going to extend to your FOs and EOs, IF YOU TELL THEM. My parents were going to put the paint chemicals in the dumpster, which upset me because it's hazardous household waste. So, I wrapped and boxed the stuff and put some books on top and labeled the boxes "Books." No one opened those boxes, but from the comments above it seems like in other situations boxes ARE opened. That risk, combined with the method/duration of storage, makes me think it would be better for you to send the FOs and EOs to your friend's house, via ground transportation (since most are considered hazardous for air transport).
For lye I think I would do the same thing, ship it ahead of time. If I wanted to be sneaky and have the movers move it, I think it would be more work; I'd put a twist-tied bag around each container (moisture prevention and spill control), wrap each container in bubble wrap, line a box with a trash bag, pack them in a box with packing peanuts, then into another box lined with packing peanuts. This is more than the lye shippers do to send stuff to us, but if I were going to pretend to the moving company that they're not shipping hazardous materials, I'd better make sure nothing spills anywhere!
How much do you have in terms of base oils? If the company is fine with moving the stuff (they may not transport food either, since it could create a pest problem, and I don't think a box of liquid oil can be made to feel like a box of books! But solid oils could), I'd just wrap and box the stuff up. If it's a big bucket I'd find a big box and some big bubblewrap (or those rectangular air pockets like Amazon uses) plus use a trash bag to contain any spillage. If it may sit unused for months, perhaps research using some rosemary oleoresin extract or some mixed tocopherols to prevent randicity.
OK now that I've thought all that through, I now think for the base oils and maybe lye it's a good idea to see first if you can find a local buyer as someone above suggested--you have plenty of other stuff to pack, I think. Even losing a little money on it makes up for the hassle of packing it for shipping (and the cost of packing supplies). If you're not moving for months you could perhaps turn your oils into soap, which the movers would move, but soaping is supposed to be fun, I don't think it would be fun to rush and do it while your packing and decluttering will be taking so much time.
Once you get to WA, Lotioncrafter is not far away, in the San Juan Islands (go to those islands, they're beautiful!) and Liberty Naturals is nearby in Oregon, for EOs and other stuff.
I lived in Tacoma for 2 years, and I'd love to live in that area/climate again. I LOVED the rainforests, especially in the autumn, they smelled so good. However, I had a serious winter depression my first winter, it IS dark and rainy. It's a much milder climate than where I grew up and I liked the comparative warmth
moving from johannesburg to cape town, but I still got the sads. So, since you're moving from Georgia and are going to think it's cold as well as dark and rainy, I am saying to you now, I think you should buy a SAD lamp well ahead of time, and start using it before you feel depressed!
Hey, what other advice can I hurl at you?
If you're in the military you are probably great at packing? If not, please remember to label the side of the box, not the top, 'cause they get stacked you know. Office supply stores sell clear tape in bulk packs for a good price. That and a tape gun are a great combo! Oh, and the "last bits of stuff" are going to take SO LONG to pack. Whatever it is that you're packing yourself, once you think you're almost done, you're about 60% there. So if you have to drive somewhere on a particular day, try to manage your time so both of you are not staying up all night finishing packing.
